Print Paper Book: Careers Bachelor of Fine Arts

Within one year of graduating, 91% of MCAD alumni are working, pursuing further education, or engaged in military or volunteer service.*

This is no accident—MCAD’s print paper book curriculum gets students focused on their careers early and enables them to successfully transition from student to professional.

The ancient practices of printmaking and book arts still thrive in the modern world. In addition to creating original works to sell to private and corporate collections, those with these skills can have careers in arts administration, curating, print production, teaching, bookbinding, or in libraries and other archive-related areas.

Potential Careers

Art Programs Administrator

Manage enrollment and instructors while also marketing existing and creating new programs. Organize volunteers and find ways to gather the desired attendance.

Curator

Acquire, care for, develop, display, and interpret a collection of artifacts or works of art in order to inform, educate, and entertain.

Print Production Artist

Work with art directors and designers to make quick revisions to files before a piece is ready to print. Proof and press check projects.

Printmaker

Design and create prints. Use techniques including woodcut and screenprinting to transpose images onto surfaces.

Illustrator

Illustrate for advertisements, books, magazines, fashion, and more. Create layout sketches of designs, logo ideas, and illustrations that are included in reports, print materials, direct mail, point of purchase displays, posters, signage, commercials, trailers, and billboards.

Bookbinder

Physically assemble books by binding pages together along one edge. Meticulously perform many, up to two dozen or more, sequential operations to complete the book according to the specific style and materials. Often requires skills from other trades including paper and fabric crafts, leather work, model making, and graphic design.

Art Museum Administrator

Work in curating, programming, marketing, fundraising, finance, or education in relation to an arts institution.

Exhibiting Artist

Create work for a museum or gallery to display temporarily or as a part of the institution’s permanent collection. Exhibitions may be juried or be part of an invitational exhibition, such as the Whitney Biennial.

Fine Artist

Fine artists sell work to individuals, galleries, interior designers, architects, libraries, community centers, churches, banks, hotels, government, and elsewhere on a freelance basis or by commission. They must be self-motivated and able to accept criticism. At times work is commissioned, but most often it is created and sold afterwards.

Visiting Artist

Work for a specified period of time at a school, college, museum, or center to demonstrate and teach techniques and processes in your field of expertise.

*Based on the 2016/17 MCAD Alumni Outcomes Survey, within one year of graduation, 87% of alumni report working, 3% are engaging in military or volunteer service, and 1% are pursuing further education.